Robert W. Johnson of Robbinsdale passed away at the age of 93 this spring. His obituary appears in this newspaper this week. The name might not ring a bell with many of us - but his passing should be noted for the impact he had on all our lives.

 

The 1940 graduate of Becker High School went on to a very high profile career as a commercial sculpturer. As a Guernsey cow farmer’s son, I most appreciated one of his finest projects, done in 1954, that promoted the milk industry. At the time, Guernseys and their smaller cousins, the Jerseys, produced perhaps the highest butterfat content milk of all.

 

Holsteins, the black and white ones, were known only for running through their neighbors’ fences and producing milk that tasted like colored water.

 

But rich milk has gone the way of a lot of other good things, and for that reason, the Ewald Bros. Dairy art, done about Guernseys by Johnson, bears even more importance to me. 

 

It stood on a billboard across from Ewald Bros. Dairy in Golden Valley.

 

Then, it went to the Minnesota State Fair.

 

Many say Johnson’s 3-D art on billboards led to their strengthening position as an advertising medium.

 

Every time I look at that art of the Ewald Bros. guernseys (with horns) I remember the times back on our Oak Park farm when cattle still were allowed to grow horns.

 

But horns later were determined  to be dangerous, as cattle sometimes resorted to head-butting each other. They  were dehorned during their first year. That was always a gruesome scene on our farm each winter day when the veterinarian came out and locked up the calves and sawed the horns off.

 

Ewald Bros. was a well-known milk bottler in the Twin Cities for many, many years. They lasted until 1982.

 

Johnson’s hand produced many well-known art pieces over the years. 

 

He created paper-mache’ sculptures for floats, including the Orange Bowl parade in Miami. 

 

He signed on as a graphic artist for Naegele Outdoor Advertising. 

 

His work included projects for Gold Bond stamps, the “Sandy Saver.” for Colonial Car Washes, a 15-foot tall green octopus, and the eagle at Northwestern University in St. Paul.

 

His art of an American Indian graced the lobby of the now-closed Thunderbird Hotel in Bloomington. 

 

And, if you’ve not found a way to appreciate this man yet, next time you’re around the Becker Field House, take a good look.

 

The big Bulldog hanging on the outside wall belongs to him.

 

He was preceded in death by a brother better known to we locals - Don Johnson - longtime member of the Becker Board of Education.